simeon
Petty Officer 1st Class
Posts: 62
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Post by simeon on Mar 29, 2021 22:21:35 GMT
The Isabela de Basilan question could become a stuff of electoral nightmares that would make for strife in the nascent autonomous region, especially if the Christians were not guaranteed enough that they will still live under a secular law. Participating too in the Moro parliament could quickly prove to be awkward, and it is very likely that its people will find a way of getting out of the regional government.
Many of the Moros down south are also perfectly observant of their contemporary socio-political regime and its powerful families would like to retain their plutocratic strangleholds on their tribes, political offices, and militias, making Nur Misuari's self-declared egalitarian organisation prone to splintering. Will Tadiar be willing to negotiate with MILF as well? The latter could also be quite storied with the tales of atrocities as well, and could be much more wary of them, even acrimonious. How about the non-aligned, petty militias controlled by the governors and mayors? Are the CAFGU's all but butterflied away, or is a similar concept contributing to Tadiar's gaming?
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Post by TheRomanSlayer on Mar 30, 2021 2:31:49 GMT
The Isabela de Basilan question could become a stuff of electoral nightmares that would make for strife in the nascent autonomous region, especially if the Christians were not guaranteed enough that they will still live under a secular law. Participating too in the Moro parliament could quickly prove to be awkward, and it is very likely that its people will find a way of getting out of the regional government. Many of the Moros down south are also perfectly observant of their contemporary socio-political regime and its powerful families would like to retain their plutocratic strangleholds on their tribes, political offices, and militias, making Nur Misuari's self-declared egalitarian organisation prone to splintering. Will Tadiar be willing to negotiate with MILF as well? The latter could also be quite storied with the tales of atrocities as well, and could be much more wary of them, even acrimonious. How about the non-aligned, petty militias controlled by the governors and mayors? Are the CAFGU's all but butterflied away, or is a similar concept contributing to Tadiar's gaming? The negotiations between the Tadiar-led junta and the MILF would prove.....interesting, to say the least. However, if Tadiar proposes a similar scenario to the OTL Bangsamoro Organic Law, then that could prompt the MILF to stop fighting. Keep in mind that this will be an era where ISIS would not exist as we know it, so Islamist terrorism would be confined to attacking Russia, or some other random targets. Also, the Islamic world might be a bit more upset with Russia than the United States, because of the carving up of territories in northern Kazakhstan, plus the bloodier Soviet War in Afghanistan as well. There is one other thing that I still need to cover before I move on, and that is the fate of Alsa Masa. They were instrumental in the Philippine Civil War, and they were mainly allied with Tadiar. I could see a similar group to CAFGUs arising, albeit staffed by former Alsa Masa fighters. The fact that governors and mayors could have commands of small militia groups is probably one of the reasons why Tadiar is resorting to appointing military officers for such roles, because the officers who are appointed as governors would still have command over armed troops, but in this case, they would have the legal right to command those troops, unlike the civilian governors. |
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Post by TheRomanSlayer on Apr 1, 2021 4:42:28 GMT
Chapter Forty-Eight: No Country for Balikbayans
LOS ANGELES ANTI-WAR RALLY TURNS VIOLENT AS FIGHTS BREAK OUT BETWEEN MULTIPLE ETHNIC GROUPS
Los Angeles Times
September 30, 1995
Los Angeles, CALIFORNIA – An anti-war rally in Los Angeles was held yesterday, as numerous Filipino and Vietnamese activists took to the streets to protest the Chinese military occupation of the Spratly Islands. However, the rally became violent when numerous Chinese Americans descended on the activists, causing a fight to occur. At the same time, twelve Filipino Americans sustained significant injuries after getting into a brawl with fourteen Armenian Americans, just outside Glendale. The number of participants in the brawl were even on both sides, before a group of Turkish and Azerbaijani bystanders joined in the fight, protecting the Filipinos that were being beaten by the Armenians. In retaliation, nine individuals were arrested for assault, possession of a weapon, and are due to stand trial in a couple of months.
“We were just chanting slogans like ‘Stop the war!’ and ‘China, get out of Scarborough Shoal!’, before being assaulted by these thugs,” comments local Filipino American activist Pedro Valenzuela, who sustained a concussion after being kicked in the head. “Thankfully, we had a group of guys who protected us from further assault.”
The Armenian attacks on the Filipinos were motivated by what they saw as a chance to get revenge on the latter for their country’s participation in the botched peacekeeping mission in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is contested by Armenia and Azerbaijan. Furthermore, the Armenians who came out to oppose the peace rally also chanted pro-China slogans like ‘Nansha today, Manila tomorrow!’, and ‘starve the banana sellers!’. To make matters worse, three civilians slapped a hamburger away from a Filipino customer, who was then beaten to death. Incensed by the assault on the bystander with the hamburger, the dead man’s friends proceeded to retaliate by stabbing them. Los Angeles and Glendale eventually become a war zone, with additional police officers and riot control personnel being deployed into the streets to stop the riots from escalating.
“We are repaying our Filipino brothers and sisters for their contribution to the defense of our country against the terrorists, and we will always stand by them,” comments Nusret Bayramov, whose family fled from Nagorno-Karabakh during the Second Russian Civil War. “It is shameful for them to receive such assaults, and the fact that they managed to stand their ground is nothing short of amazing.”
--- “The 1995 Los Angeles-Glendale Riots that occurred between September 30th and October 3rd of 1995, was the result of the anti-war rally turned violent, when Armenian and Chinese Americans descended on the activists who hosted the rally. Many of the activists came from the Filipino and Vietnamese communities in Los Angeles and have constantly faced harassment and assault from their foes, until the brazen murder of Agapito Villena by three Chinese Americans while he was eating a hamburger had resulted in a vicious retaliation, when members of the notorious Satanas gang fought back by killing the three assailants. However, the three perpetrators responsible for the murder of Agapito Villena were members of a rival crime group, Wah Ching, leading to gang-related targeted killings. The result of the escalated killings was that for the next few days, Los Angeles became a major battlefield, fought between the ethnic-based gangs, as well as ordinary citizens who joined vigilante groups. It was in the Los Angeles-Glendale Riots that the Southeast Asian groups like Asian Boyz, Satanas, Bahala ng Gang, and Tiny Rascal Gang had called for a truce with each other, and to collaborate with defending each other’s communities against Wah Ching, the Triads, and other gangs of East Asian origin. In addition, the Southeast Asian gangs also called for a truce with the Hispanic gangs, to band together against what they see as the growing power of the Chinese gangs, now backed by the Armenian mafia based in Glendale. Many of the Filipinos who joined these crime groups were recent arrivals from the Philippines who arrived during the Filipino Civil War of 1986-88, and after the establishment of Artemio Tadiar’s dictatorship. At the same time, the Southeast Asian gangs also called for a truce with African American crime groups, to extend their offer of protection against them, much to the chagrin of the older generation of the crime bosses. The historic conflict between the Hispanic gangs and the Armenian mafia continued to escalate, but recent events had forced them to call for a truce, namely because of Wah Ching’s growing power, and the arrival of the Turkish mafia in Los Angeles, which had a bone to pick with the Armenian mafia.” Portions from “Crime and Punishment: Los Angeles’s Gang Crisis”, released by ABC.
--- YUGOSLAVIA HOLDS ELECTIONS AS CONSERVATIVE PARTIES EXPECTED TO UNSEAT RULING YUGOSLAV COMMUNIST PARTY
The Seattle Times
March 13, 1996
Belgrade, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA – Yugoslavs head to the polls today as the nation holds its first election since the coup that was engineered by prominent Yugoslav general, Veljko Kadijevic, back in 1989. Although the ruling Yugoslav Communist Party is confident of their victory, opinion polls indicate that conservative parties are expected to win a handful of seats from its communist rivals. The most prominent of these conservative parties, the Yugoslav Nationalist Alliance, was formed from a merger of several Serbian and Montenegrin conservative parties and is led by Vladan Batic. In addition, several political parties were banned from fielding candidates for the national election, all of which were ultranationalist parties that clashed with the ruling junta led by Kadijevic. As a result of Kadijevic’s ban, several Serbian nationalists took to the streets to demand the overturning of the political ban, which Kadijevic is expected to reject, out of fear of a potential civil war breaking out within Yugoslavia, in a similar manner to what happened in the Philippines.
“The junta that took over our government has been challenged by the Serbian and Montenegrin peoples, who do not want their country to become the Balkan Philippines,” comments Vuk Draskovic, who now resides in Isetgrad, Russia, after the National Redemption Army’s victory over the Soviet loyalist government. “The time for Veljko Kadijevic’s regime to fall is now, and we will be there to support our man in Belgrade, Vladan Batic, as he unseats the communist demons out of Belgrade for good.”
Yugoslavia, like the rest of Europe, had struggled with the small influx of Filipino refugees arriving in Europe from the Philippines after Tadiar had seized power. The Filipino refugees, who had to either take the land route through Russia after arriving in Tokyo, Japan by air and catching a connecting flight to Vladivostok, or the air route through Turkey, had filed for political asylum before Tadiar’s decision to close all foreign embassies in Manila back in August of 1995, to prevent any more foreign embassy staff from getting killed by Chinese bombs after the Chinese bombing of the Japanese Embassy in Manila that killed 9 Japanese Embassy staff members. However, there are some Filipinos who arrived in Europe from the Middle East after the Iraqi Kurdish uprising of 1990 had forced them to seek refuge in Europe, North America, and Australia, as returning home was not an option for them. While there are approximately 2,000 Filipinos residing in Yugoslavia, some of them had chosen to move to Croatia, where they could live closer to Western Europe, and where they could also choose to go to any foreign embassy in Zagreb that would be most likely to take them in. In addition, there are also 2,000 Filipino guest workers originally working in Western Europe who found themselves stranded in Yugoslavia, because of Tadiar’s additional order for all Philippine ambassadors to be recalled, with half of the diplomats choosing to defect instead to the West. Many of the Filipinos who do end up in Western Europe normally settle in Spain, Italy, and Portugal.
--- PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT-IN-EXILE ESTABLISHED IN VANCOUVER, WHISTLER A POSSIBLE SITE OF TEMPORARY CAPITAL CITY
Vancouver Sun
May 18, 1996
(Vancouver) – The Canadian and American governments today, had announced the formation of the Government for a Free Philippines, with prominent exiled former President of the Philippines, Corazon Aquino, appointed as the first President. Speaking in front of supporters in the Vancouver Art Gallery, former President Aquino also declares that the Philippine government-in-exile is claiming continuity from the short lived Fifth Philippine Republic, which lasted from February 25, 1986 (when current military dictator Artemio Tadiar had arrested the previous dictator, Ferdinand Marcos), until the formation of the Tadiar dictatorship in 1989. Although numerous exiled activists and former politicians who served the Aquino administration have expressed interest in taking up posts within the government-in-exile, they are scattered throughout the world. Most importantly, former Vice President Salvador Laurel had a falling out with the former President, and after the rise of Tadiar’s dictatorship, Laurel had chosen to go into exile in Australia back in 1991, where he currently resides and has retired from politics altogether. Replacing the resigned Vice President is Aquilino Pimentel Jr., who was originally going to be former President Aquino’s running mate in the controversial 1986 election before stepping aside in favor of Salvador Laurel.
“It is an honor for me to serve the government-in-exile, even if it is founded on shaky support of other nations who wished to see the end of the Tadiar regime in the Philippines,” commented Pimentel Jr., whose political career was dominated by his constant criticism of former President Ferdinand Marcos. “President Aquino’s decision to claim continuity from the Fifth Philippine Republic is a wise decision.”
Although most of the international community had supported the formation of the GFP, its sponsorship by both the American and Chinese governments could not come at a worst time, when Artemio Tadiar and the Council for National Sovereignty has started to embrace anti-American rhetoric, stemming from President Jackson’s decision to not abide by the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty signed between the Philippines and the United States. In fact, the main reason for China’s support for the creation of the Philippine government-in-exile was to find a suitable legitimate representative that could negotiate with them for the formal signing of the peace treaty that could end the state of war between China and the Philippines. The peace treaty that was supposed to be signed in Germany was rejected by the late Foreign Minister Arturo Tolentino, whose diplomatic insult came back to haunt the Tadiar regime, as his plane was shot down by anti-air missiles coming from Fujian’s air defense unit. The Tadiar regime saw Tolentino’s murder as an excuse to prolong the diplomatic hostility between China and the Philippines, meaning that the two nations are technically still at war with each other, leaving the Philippines with an opportunity to use diplomatic irregularity to carry out a variety of terrorist attacks aimed at hurting China.
--- EUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY RATIFIES CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION CHARTER, ESTABLISHING EUROPEAN CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION AS SUCCESSOR TO EEC
The Sun
June 13, 1996
Brussels, BELGIUM – Top officials representing the member states of the European Economic Community had ratified the Continental Association Charter, formally establishing the European Continental Association as the successor to the EEC. The Charter, containing much of the same provisions as the rejected Maastricht Treaty, except for the abolition of internal border controls, had been approved by the officials, as negotiations between the governments of the member states and their citizens were at a deadlock for years. Newly elected Chief Commissioner of the ECA, Uffe Ellemann-Jensen, has also announced the start of negotiations for potential admissions of current European Free Trade Association members, even offering to adopt the same rules that the EFTA had, governing economic transactions between the ECA and other parties. Meanwhile, French President Jacques Chirac had also announced that, for the time being, all member states of the ECA will be allowed to keep their national currency, instead of pushing for the proposed Ducat as the official currency of the entire ECA.
“We had to concede on the issue of the Ducat in exchange for our consent to the ratification of the Continental Association Charter, though it is a tough pill for us to swallow,” Chirac comments in front of reporters when asked about the fate of the proposed Ducat. “As it stands, there are some member states which have a lower rate of economic performance than the wealthier member states.”
Chirac hints at a possible examination of past applications that were filed when the European Economic Community was still around, indicating that the ECA will take a hard look at the applications of certain member states, particularly Greece, whose economy has not performed well as its leaders had expected. In addition, the ECA has announced that it will not take in applications for future membership from newly independent nations that have seceded from the former Yugoslavia and the former Soviet Union. Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Tony Blair has approved of President Chirac’s decision to drop the demand for the adoption of the Ducat and has requested the ECA’s aid in solving the situation in Northern Ireland. So far, ECA Chief Commissioner Elleman-Jensen has offered to mediate between the warring parties consisting of Irish Republican Army factions and the Ulster Volunteer Force.
--- Excerpts from the 1998 Philippine Constitution:
“The new Philippine Government shall be organized on the tricameral system, with the following organizations as follows:
1) The Prefectural Assembly, which is the lower house that will consist of appointed representatives called the Prefectural Representative. The Prefectural Representative will be appointed by the National Assembly, and the main role of the Prefectural Representative will be to represent his or her electoral riding’s interest. (ie: requests for financial assistance in a Prefecture’s infrastructure) The Prefectural Representative will also have the power to approve the appointments of new ministers, as well as nominate potential candidates for various positions. The Prefectural Representative shall serve up to five years maximum on a two-term basis. It is the only legislative body that will appoint new representatives on a meritocratic system.
2) The Regional Assembly, which is the middle house that will consist of elected representatives called the Member of the Regional Assembly. The Member of the Regional Assembly will be tasked with representing the interests of the Region that he or she represents, as well as casting electoral votes in a newly established Electoral College to approve a new leader. In addition, the Member of the Regional Assembly will also have the power to approve a new Prime Minister and approve new Cabinet ministers, as well as future foreign ambassadors to other nations. The Member of the Regional Assembly shall serve up to five years maximum on a two-term basis.
3) The National Assembly, or the Katipunan, which is the upper house that will consist of elected representatives called the Katipunan Representative. The Katipunan Representative will be directly elected by the people but will have a different schedule for the Katipunan Representative elections, as opposed to the elections for Prefectural Representatives and Members of the Regional Assembly. The Katipunan Representative will have the power to impeach any heads of state or heads of government if they are found to have violated the Constitution, as well as to vote on new policies, bills, and laws, for approval. The Katipunan Representative will also have the authority to declare war on other nations, as well as subjecting any ceasefire agreement or peace treaties to a vote and approve or reject any potential amendments to the Constitution and approve the appointments of new Prefectural Representatives. The Katipunan Representative shall serve up to six years maximum on a single term basis.
STATUS: Changed back to Bicameral Legislature, through the 2018 Bicameral Legislature Amendment Act, with the Regional and Prefectural Assembly merging back into the House of Representatives, and the National Assembly, or the Katipunan, changed back to the Senate.
The Reorganizations of the Subdivisions of the Philippines, will be as follows:
1) Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, and La Union – Samtoy Region (Ilocos Norte and Sur will merge to form Ilocos Prefecture)
2) Aurora, Quirino, Nueva Ecija, and Nueva Vizcaya – Casiguran Region
3) Isabela, and Cagayan – Cagayan Valley Region
4) Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, Abra, and Apayao – Cordillera Autonomous Region (Mountain Province will be annexed by Ifugao Prefecture)
5) Pangasinan, Tarlac, Zambales, Bataan and Pampanga – Caboloan Region
6) Namayan Special Wards (formerly known as the National Capital Region, to consist of cities within the Greater Manila region)
7) Rizal, Quezon, Laguna, Cavite, and Batangas – Selurong Region
8) Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Albay, Masbate, and Sorsogon – Bicol Region (Camarines Norte and Sur will merge to form Ambos Camarines Prefecture)
9) Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Romblon, Marinduque, and Palawan – Taytay Region (Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro will merge to form Mindoro Prefecture)
10) Northern Samar, Samar, Eastern Samar, Biliran, Leyte, and Southern Leyte – Mairete Region (Northern Samar, Samar, and Eastern Samar will merge to form Waray Prefecture, and Leyte and Southern Leyte will merge to form Leyte Prefecture)
11) Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Aklan, Capiz, Antique, Guimaras, and Iloilo – Madyas Region (Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental will merge to form Buglas Prefecture, but Kabankalan will be detached from Buglas Prefecture to form the Kabankalan Special Wars, with Kabankalan’s Barangays upgraded to Special Wards)
12) Kabankalan Special Wards (also known as Kabankalan Capital Region)
13) Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga del Dur, Misamis Occidental, and the city of Isabela, Basilan – Samboangan Region (Zamboanga del Norte, del Sur, and Sibugay will merge to form Zamboanga Prefecture, and annexes Isabela, Basilan, into Zamboanga Prefecture)
14) Caraga and Davao Regions, plus Sarangani, Cotabato, and South Cotabato – Butuan Region (Agusan del Norte and del Sur will merge to for Agusan Prefecture, Surigao del Norte and del Sur will merge to form Surigao Prefecture, Davao del Norte, Davao de Oro, Davao Oriental, and Davao del Sur will merge to form Claveria Prefecture, named after Narciso Claveria, a former Spanish Governor General of the Philippines, South Cotabato and Davao Occidental will be annexed into Sarangani Prefecture)
15) Maguindanao, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Sultan Kudarat – Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (as agreed in the Tadiar-Misuari Agreement of 1998)
16) Lanao Del Norte, Lanao Del Sur, Bukidnon, Camiguin, and Misamis Oriental – Lanao Region (Lanao del Norte and Sur will merge to form Dansalan Prefecture)
17) Batanes Province will be upgraded to Batanes Special Administrative Frontier (only Prefecture to be directly ruled by the Minister of Defense)
18) Cebu and Bohol – Sri Lumay Region (named after the eponymous founder of the Rajahnate of Sugbu)
Subdivisions of the Philippines will now be divided into Regions and Prefectures, with Prefectures becoming the successors to the former Provinces.
Article Thirteen, Section One: The Council for National Sovereignty shall be henceforth, a collective body consisting entirely of appointed military officers on a meritocratic model. Each member of the Council for National Sovereignty will be theoretically qualified for appointment to the position of Gobernador of a Region, and a Gobernadorcillo of a Prefecture.
Article Thirteen, Section Two: All appointments for the positions of Gobernador of a Region and a Gobernadorcillo of a Prefecture shall be subjected to a review by both the Minister of Defense and the collective leadership of the Council for National Sovereignty.
--- NEW LEFTIST GUERRILLA GROUP CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR CAR BOMBINGS TARGETING MEXICAN MILITARY PERSONNEL IN IXTEPEC
Dallas Morning Tribune
July 21, 1996
 Popular Revolutionary Army guerrilla fighters pose in front of the Mexican flag in Oaxaca as they call for a protracted people's war against the Mexican government in response to its brutal attacks on their Zapatista allies in Chiapas.(Ixtepec, MEXICO) – A previously unheard-of guerrilla group calling itself the Popular Revolutionary Army has claimed responsibility for the series of car bombings targeting the Mexican Army checkpoints throughout the town of Ixtepec, in the state of Oaxaca. The announcement comes at a time when the Mexican Army is steadily gaining territory in neighboring Chiapas, where the war against the Zapatista movement is at its thickest. Mexican Defense Minister Mario Chaparro has also ordered all Mexican Special Forces units to be deployed in the troubled regions of southeastern Mexico and has also authorized the consolidation of all anti-communist militias operating throughout Mexico into a new organization called the National Constabulary Guard. Unlike the regular soldiers of the Mexican Army, service in the NCG is on a strictly volunteer basis, as more death squads are being consolidated into the new Guard.
“The Mexican police are overstretched as it is, and with the help of the newly founded NCG troops, we will be able to maintain security within our country at a time when we are facing a left-wing uprising from the southeast,” comments Defense Minister Chaparro. “In addition, we are also calling for additional assistance with training new recruits from any foreign military services that can help improve our fighting capability.”
The formation of the National Constabulary Guard also comes at a time when across the Pacific Ocean, in the Philippines ruled by military dictator Artemio Tadiar, his regime has also formed its own national guard, the Territorial Defense Guard, to help combat their own left-wing and Islamist groups battling the government. Already, there are fears in Washington that the NCG under the direct control of General Chaparro might be used as a political weapon in which they could topple the Mexican government if they fail to suppress the leftist uprising in the southeast. In addition, the continued presence of Filipino and Chilean volunteers has complicated the military operations, as their preferred methods of counterinsurgency usually involve employing scorched earth tactics against villages suspecting of harboring Zapatista or PRA guerrillas, and torturing suspected sympathizers, with summary executions being the result. However, NCG members were also spotted alongside the foreign mercenaries in committing other atrocities as well. President Jesse Jackson has criticized the conduct of the Mexican military, as a result.
“The Mexican military should not sink so low to the same levels that we saw in Artemio Tadiar’s dictatorship,” comments President Jackson. “Unlike the Philippines, we will not hesitate to intervene if we hear complaints of human rights abuses perpetrated by the Mexican military.”
President Jackson’s warning to the Mexican government has resulted in a major backlash against the President, with many Americans of Mexican descent calling his warning an indirect condoning of Zapatista terrorism. At the same time, reports of Mexican refugees fleeing from the warzones of southeastern Mexico have been spotted closer to Texan state waters as vigilantes and other right-wing extremist groups threatened to shoot the boats unless they redirect their boats elsewhere, and in some cases, the vigilantes have ‘escorted’ the refugee boats closer to Cuban territorial waters. The gesture however, backfired when Fidel Castro learned of the incidents closer to the town of Arroyos de Mantua.
“The reactionaries in Washington have given us the greatest gift of all, which is the influx of frightened revolutionaries who fled from their country because of the brutality displayed by the Mexican military, and their foreign mercenaries,” shouts Fidel Castro from the balcony in the Cuban capital. “We will stand in solidarity with the oppressed peoples of Mexico, and we will be glad to join in the conflict, if the Zapatistas wished to do so.”
--- LEGARDA ADMINISTRATION VOTES TO AMEND 1998 CONSTITUTION, CHANGES PHILIPPINE LEGISLATURE BACK TO BICAMERAL SYSTEM
Manila Times
January 6, 2018
Kabankalan, KABANKALAN CAPITAL REGION – In an act of defiance towards deposed former dictator Artemio Tadiar, the Legarda administration has voted in favor of restoring the bicameral legislature for the Philippine government, or the Bayanihan. President Legarda, who became a rising star late in 2012 when she emerged as one of the potential successors to Artemio Tadiar as leader of the Council for National Sovereignty, has also emerged as one of Tadiar’s biggest critics. Legarda’s campaign of changing the Philippine legislature back to a bicameral system, though with the House of Representatives being elected from the electoral districts within the Philippine prefectures. At the same time, Legarda also created the Council for Inter-Regional Affairs, which will assume the duties of the former Regional Assembly. The amendments were done to appease the members of the former government-in-exile that had been recently abolished upon Tadiar’s resignation from office, but former government-in-exile Vice President Aquilino Pimentel Jr. had much to say about Tadiar’s federalization plan.
“Artemio Tadiar had executed the federalization plan that I proposed a long time ago, but the way he imposed it on the Philippines is nothing short of a complete bureaucratic disaster,” comments Pimentel Jr. from his home in Laoag, Ilocos Prefecture. “Not only was the era of tricameral legislature a complete disaster, but many Filipinos often complain about the bureaucracy that gave them many headaches. At least, our bicameral legislature when the government-in-exile still existed had a simpler solution. Then again, Tadiar was experimenting with how the Spanish and Japanese governments had managed their government and is obsessed with removing many political influences that he felt were too American.”
However, Legarda’s decision to keep the subdivisions of the Philippines to the Tadiar-era Regions and Prefectures had been unpopular, with prominent political families feeling the loss of their political power. Even as Vice President Jejomar Binay had worked together with President Legarda, many of the members of his own family had bitterly complained that the Vice President was fine with his family’s loss of political power. Yet, at the same time, a few Filipino politicians who survived the Tadiar dictatorship had some positive comments about the political changes that Tadiar brought to the Philippines, albeit at a gunpoint.
“Under the Tadiar regime, almost everyone who held a post in civil service, and in political office had to serve in the military, for a period of three years. Some of the leftover political families tried to overturn the conscription policy, only for Tadiar to send them to the labor camps. He created a series of anti-political dynasty propaganda that often mixed the truth with some of his lies, but it worked to an extent that it became effective in brainwashing children to hate popular families. It has also reached a point where even siblings and family members who are running for political office would have each other’s relatives back their rivals,” comments House of Representatives member Eileen Ermita-Buhain, who also served as a former Prefectural Representative in the Tadiar-era tricameral legislature. “For example, take Alan Peter Cayetano. He ran for political office in the Taguig-Pateros’s 1st district, but his sister Pia was compelled to support his political rival, to fracture the Cayetano political family. The last thing Tadiar needed was a return to the era where the Marcos-Romualdez family held power over the Philippines. As much of a bureaucratic buffoon that Tadiar was, at least he managed to create a bureaucratic nightmare for Chinese business interests, which served his goals of keeping the Philippines and China at each other’s throats.”
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Post by kyuzoaoi on Apr 1, 2021 14:56:10 GMT
By the way, how is the current Philippine military organized?
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gillan1220
Fleet admiral
I've been depressed recently. Slow replies coming in the next few days.
Posts: 12,609 
Likes: 11,326
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Post by gillan1220 on Apr 1, 2021 15:57:30 GMT
So this is the equivalent of the 1992 race riots?
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Post by TheRomanSlayer on Apr 1, 2021 17:07:26 GMT
By the way, how is the current Philippine military organized? Right now, that will be one of the major projects that Tadiar will tackle, and thanks to the arms embargo, the Philippines might be forced to develop their own indigenous defense industry. So this is the equivalent of the 1992 race riots? Yeah, and it gets worse because it now involves organized crime groups, and street gangs too. |
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Post by TheRomanSlayer on Apr 3, 2021 21:59:13 GMT
Chapter Forty-Nine: The Elusive Glory
GEORGE GRAHAM APPOINTED FULL TIME MANAGER OF ENGLAND NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM, HODDLE TO TAKE PERMANENT POSITION AS MANAGER OF WALES NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM
The Sun
October 30, 1995
 Newly appointed England national football team George Graham gives an interview in front of BBC reporters upon his appointment as full-time manager of said team, replacing Glenn Huddle(London, UNITED KINGDOM) – The English national football team has announced that they have appointed George Graham as their new full-time manager, following the departure of former interim manager Glenn Hoddle, who has also accepted the full-time position as manager of the Wales national football team. Graham, who has completed a stint with the English football club Arsenal, has promised to maintain the same training regimen as his predecessor, and at the same time, implement some of the reforms he introduced back when he was managing Arsenal. In Scotland however, news of Graham’s appointment as England’s manager has scandalized most of Scotland’s football team supporters, especially the fans that make up of the Tartan Army.
“I do not know what went on inside that lad’s head, but our team needs to improve itself, so that George Graham will live to regret working for our English rivals!” says an unnamed Scotland national football team supporter. “It is a sad day when a Scot decides to help his English rivals instead of doing his national duty and manage the Scottish national football team.”
Likewise, the Welsh football fans are laughing with great irony at the thought of an Englishman taking up the post as manager of a rival football team, and at the same time, the rivalry between England and Wales have just started to heat up. The qualification rounds for the Euro 1996 tournament would be interesting, to say the least, as England waits for the next tournament. However, the Euro 1996 tournament will be the first debut of Belarus’s national football team, despite both Ukraine and Belarus being under the same President while being a part of the Union State of Ukraine and Belarus. Belarus’s surprising performance during the qualifier rounds must have been attributed to its players’ experience gained during the 1990 FIFA World Cup, back when the Second Russian Civil War had just erupted, with more Belarusian players being called up, as a result of the Russian and Ukrainian players’ withdrawal from the Soviet national football team due to conflicting loyalties.
--- EURO 1996 Tournament
Qualified Teams:
Group 1: Italy, Czech Republic
Group 2: Russia, Greece
Group 3: Denmark, Scotland
Group 4: Sweden, Spain
Group 5: Netherlands, Belarus
Group 6: Yugoslavia
Group 7: France, Portugal
Group 8: Germany
Playoff round: Wales vs Northern Ireland
Match #1: Wales 1-1 Northern Ireland
Match #2: Northern Ireland 0-2 Wales
(Wales qualifies via playoffs)
Group A: England, Greece, Sweden, Yugoslavia
Group B: Germany, Denmark, Czech Republic, Portugal
Group C: Netherlands, Italy, Belarus, Russia
Group D: Spain, Scotland, Wales, France
Group A:
England 2-2 Yugoslavia
Greece 1-3 Sweden
England 2-1 Sweden
Greece 0-0 Yugoslavia
England 4-1 Greece
Sweden 0-1 Yugoslavia
Group B:
Germany 0-0 Portugal
Denmark 3-3 Czech Republic
Germany 1-2 Czech Republic
Denmark 2-0 Portugal
Germany 1-2 Denmark
Czech Republic 0-1 Portugal
Group C:
Netherlands 1-1 Russia
Italy 6-0 Belarus
Netherlands 3-2 Belarus
Italy 2-1 Russia
Netherlands 4-2 Italy
Russia 5-0 Belarus
Group D:
Spain 0-0 France
Scotland 0-2 Wales
Spain 1-0 Wales
Scotland 2-0 France
Scotland 1-1 Spain
Wales 2-2 France
Knockout Rounds:
Denmark 1-1 Yugoslavia (Denmark wins 5-3 in penalties)
Italy 0-0 Spain (Spain wins 4-3 in penalties)
Netherlands 1-0 Wales
England 2-1 Czech Republic
Semifinals:
Denmark 1-3 Spain
Netherlands 2-2 (England wins 4-2 in penalties)
Finals:
England 1-0 Spain (a.e.t.)
--- A GLORY RESTORED! ENGLAND STUNS SPAIN IN EURO 1996 FINALS, WINS FIRST EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP!
The Sun
June 27, 1996
 Gareth Southgate takes a shot at the Spanish goalkeeper that led to the golden goal, earning England its first European Championship trophy.(London, UNITED KINGDOM) – The wait is over for England fans as they can rest easy, with Gareth Southgate scoring the golden goal in the 119th minute of added extra time to seal the win for the Three Lions as they win their first European championship. Both England and Spain remained scoreless in regulation time, with both teams using up their substitutions. When Gareth Southgate substituted for Robbie Fowler in the 89th minute, many English football fans began to curse manager George Graham for such a risky move, but their patience has been awarded when Gary Neville had intercepted a Spanish pass coming from Javier Manjarin, and passed the interception to Southgate, who was apparently not offside when he was one on one with Spanish goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta. Southgate faked out Zubizarreta, as his shot went through his legs. All of England had started to cheer after Southgate’s goal was confirmed, and much of the party atmosphere had remained heated throughout the night, as the post-tournament party went on, surprisingly with few arrests and altercations.
“I would like to credit my players who worked hard with their fitness regimen for this event, but more importantly, I would like to thank the fans who showed up to support our team,” says England national football team manager George Graham. “As for Mr. Hoddle, I would also like to say what a wonderful job he has done, training the Welsh national football team to outlast even traditional powerhouses like Spain and France.”
While Wales national football team manager Glenn Hoddle has been disappointed with his new team, he is confident enough to remain as manager for a few years but has sent a congratulatory note to his English manager counterpart for the Three Lions’ victory over Spain.
“This is a joint victory for all the people of the British Isles as they can celebrate their victory over Spain. It is basically like going back to the Tudor era once again,” comments Hoddle cheekily. “Although hopefully next time, we will win the next tournament for sure.”
English fans had showed a rare display of both English and British national pride during the tournament, with England fans being more prevalent during the Euro 1996 finals match between England and Spain, but there were no scuffles between the two fans, as British Prime Minister Tony Blair had recently passed an anti-hooliganism law that imposes harsh fines on any football fan who engages in hooligan behavior. The anti-hooliganism law is meant to crack down on what the British government sees as a chronic domestic problem that had been exported to continental Europe, with the European Continental Association expected to follow England’s lead in tackling their own problems regarding football hooliganism. However, the problem regarding hooliganism is expected to remain, as a new rivalry has emerged between England and Spain.
--- NFL AWARDS EXPANSION FRANCHISE TO CAROLINA, BALTIMORE, AND PORTLAND, EXPANSION DRAFT TO BE DECIDED AMONG NEW TEAMS
Los Angeles Times
November 30, 1995
(New York City) – Commissioner of the National Football Team, Paul Tagliabue, has announced the next three expansion teams that will play in the upcoming 1996 NFL Season. The NFL has decided to award the expansion teams to Carolina, Baltimore, and Portland, as the market continues to grow. The new Carolina NFL team will be named the Carolina Panthers, while Baltimore’s new football team will be called the Ravens, and Portland’s new team will be called the Thunderstorm. Out of these teams, Baltimore’s expansion team came at a time when the NFL had blocked the relocation proposal of the Cleveland Browns, and had instead decided to award Baltimore with a new expansion team, with a completely new roster and support staff to be decided. On the other hand, Portland’s brief history with the NFL was only recent, as it hosted the temporarily relocated San Francisco 49ers to the city after their stadium was among the casualties of the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake, with noted Receiver Jerry Rice among the victims of the earthquake, becoming the Portland Storm. The new Portland Thunderstorm will claim continuity from the interim Portland Storm, but will also have a completely new roster and support staff. Although there is no confirmation yet as to which coaches will be selected to manage the new team, former Detroit Lions coach Wayne Fontes has been approached by the Carolina Panthers expansion franchise for an offer to coach their team, while Gary Moeller is approached by the new Portland Thunderstorm for the same kind of offer.
Civic Stadium will be the temporary stadium for the Portland Thunderstorm, while a new stadium is being built with the help of the Portland municipal government, and various business investors seeking to participate in the new construction. The main project for a new football stadium in Portland, however, is not a new concept. Back in 1964, there was a proposal to build the Delta Dome, but it only went past the design stage and was never built, due to opposition from numerous Portland residents, because of fears of potential flood damage and additional fears of financial hardships from managing a team like the Portland Thunderstorm. Supporters of the rejected Delta Dome points out the successful test run of Portland’s hosting of the interim Portland Storm, as they played their games in Civic Stadium. As a result, the main project to build a new NFL stadium in Portland was launched, with the support of current President Jesse Jackson, and former President Bob Dole, who promoted the resurrected Delta Dome project, now renamed to Lotus Isle Dome, as the new stadium will be built in Lotus Isle Park.
--- AFC Asian Cup 1996 teams:
Group A: UAE, China PR, Iran, Kyrgyzstan
UAE 1-0 Kyrgyzstan
China PR 1-3 Iran
UAE 0-4 Iran
China PR 2-2 Kyrgyzstan
UAE 0-2 China PR
Iran 3-0 Kyrgyzstan
Group B: Japan, Korea Republic, Syria, Thailand
Japan 6-0 Thailand
Korea Republic 3-2 Syria
Japan 4-1 Syria
Korea Republic 9-1 Thailand
Japan 0-0 Korea Republic
Syria 1-1 Thailand
Group C: Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Vietnam
Kazakhstan 3-1 Vietnam
Saudi Arabia 1-1 Uzbekistan
Kazakhstan 4-3 Uzbekistan
Saudi Arabia 0-0 Vietnam
Kazakhstan 2-2 Saudi Arabia
Uzbekistan 2-0 Vietnam
Knockout Rounds:
Iran 4-1 UAE
Kazakhstan 2-1 China PR
Korea Rep. 3-2 Saudi Arabia
Japan 0-1 Uzbekistan
Semifinals:
Iran 2-2 Kazakhstan (Iran wins 5-4 in penalties)
Korea Republic 4-2 Uzbekistan
Finals:
Korea Republic 1-1 Iran (Korea Republic wins 3-1 in penalties)
--- EURASIAN DELIGHT POISED TO EMERGE AS TOP GROSSING FILM OF 2018
Entertainment Tonight
August 21, 2018
(Singapore City, SINGAPORE) – Well, well, well. If August of this year is not just exciting with the release of the latest James Bond movie, 'Solo', there is another new movie on the screen that is poised to surpass 'Solo' as the number one movie of 2018. The movie, ‘Eurasian Delight’, was released on August 17 of this year, and moviegoers have been impressed and dazzled by the sheer details placed on the movie. ‘Eurasian Delight’ is a joint project between Russia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, and Yugoslavia, with famous ‘Bolat’ director Timur Bekhambet directing the movie. Joining Mr. Bekhambet is producer Rade Serbedzija, whose experience on ‘Game of Thrones: The Stallion Throne’ had been essential to the success of the film, as well as his role in choosing a variety of actors set for the film. Notable actors who were in the film include Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ, who plays the character Rinat Rustamov, a popular Russian entrepreneur of Tatar descent, and Emilia Clarke, who is best known for portraying Daenerys Targaryen from the Game of Thrones series, as the English food critic Amelia. Other high profile actors also include Henry Golding, who plays Nick Young, one of Mr. Rustamov's best friends and friendly rival for the restaurant business (who also happens to be a fan favorite of the popular SE Asian dish satay), and Ken Jeong, who plays Konstantin Park, the Koryo-saram business partner of Mr. Rustamov.
‘Eurasian Delights’ tells a story of Mr. Rustamov, who wanted to expand his network of upscale restaurants beyond the confines of the former East Slavic Federation, which was renamed back to the Russian Federation in 2007 after protests from the former ESF’s non-Slavic minorities at being marginalized by the ESF government. He is also joined by two promising chefs, Altan (played by Aras Bulut Iynemli) and Didem (Farah Zeynep Abdullah), who are hired to cook at the new upscale restaurant in Singapore, as well as a pair of food bloggers that he also hired for Public Relations purposes. They travel to Singapore for that purpose, only to face off against traditional old money families, with a special cameo appearance made by Michelle Yeoh, who plays Eleanor Young, the first customer who eats at Mr. Rustamov’s restaurant. The movie is well known for multiple conversations in a variety sort of languages, like Turkish, Russian (when Mr. Rustamov speaks to his Russian colleagues), Tatar (the mother tongue of Mr. Rustamov), English, Serbian (one of the food bloggers played by Nikola Rakocevic is heard speaking Serbian to an unnamed character in the background), and Chinese (though Mandarin, Cantonese, and Hokkien are often heard in the movie).
Accusations of spotlight stealing are rife within the movie industry, especially involving Asian actors. Just a few years ago, noted Russian actor, Evgeny Sangadzhiev, had made international headlines when he was casted as Kazbek Gavrilov on the popular high school theme show, Jocks*, while at the same time he was accused of stealing the spotlight from what was supposed to be Jake Pempengco’s first television debut after years of performing in several movies, including ‘Last Stand’.
--- TURKEY SUSPENDS PLANNED DEPORATION OF KURDISH MINORITY, NEGOTIATES POPULATION EXCHANGE DEALS WITH SYRIAN AND IRAQI GOVERNMENTS
Sydney Herald
July 16, 1997
Ankara, TURKEY – Turkish President Suleyman Demirel has announced the suspension of the planned expulsion of Turkey’s Kurdish minority, citing a possible expulsion from NATO as a major factor. The move comes at a time when US President Jack Kemp had warned the Turkish government to not follow in the footsteps of the Iranian and Syrian governments in expelling their Kurdish populations from their countries. In addition, both the European Continental Association and Russia had issued a joint warning of a possible military intervention, should Turkey carry out with their plans. The negotiations with the Syrian and Iraqi governments involve exchanging their Turkmen population residing in their nations for the Turkish Kurds, and a separate deal with Iran, exchanging Qashqai Turks living in Iran for Turkish Kurds that would be willing to relocate elsewhere. However, the planned population exchange was met with protests from the Kurdish diaspora, which saw the deal as a milder form of ethnic cleansing. The protests were also fueled by rage when it was revealed that between 150,000 to 170,000 Syrian Kurds had died while marching off from within Syria to the border with Iraq, and at the same time, numerous Iraqi Ba’ath Party diehards have resorted to massacres against their own Kurdish minority.
“The expulsion of our country from NATO will open the door for a renewed Russian aggression close to our borders, and having partnered with the Federal Republic of Georgia, they will instigate a new war against us,” comments Demirel when asked about the possible scenario arising from Turkey’s potential expulsion from NATO if they went through with the expulsion. “In addition, there is also the issue of Armenia and Azerbaijan as well, and the potential for a renewed conflict in the Caucasus.”
The Turkish government had also been facing several inquiries regarding their role in the botched attempt to smuggle weapons into Azerbaijan, to be used by the chronically short armed Azerbaijani military, when the weapons were unexpectedly captured by Iranian border troops. Since the incident, the Turkish and Iranian governments have settled the dispute through financial compensations for the loss of the weapons. Even more so, the weapons in question were received from the German government, and they were former East German military hardware that were supposed to be resold to friendly nations. In addition, the United Nations is also holding an emergency session to discuss the possible repealing of the arms embargo imposed on the Philippines in the aftermath of China’s unilateral seizure of the disputed Spratly Islands, and even with China’s possible veto, there are more UN member states who are no longer willing to let the Chinese have their way with the UN.
“In the event that the UN repeals the disgraceful arms embargo on our Philippine ally as a result of China’s brutal behavior displayed in the recent conflict, we will be ready to sell some of our weapons,” says Turkish Defense Minister Ismet Sezgin when asked about the additional acquisition of former East German weapons and equipment. “Azerbaijan is of course, our number one customer, but the Philippines and Indonesia are also welcome to the former East German weapons, in addition to the weapons and equipment that we make as well.”
--- Portions from the Interview with Former Philippine Government-in-Exile Vice President Aquilino Pimentel Jr.
Global News Canada Interview, June 14, 2018
Discussing Artemio Tadiar’s Bizarre Social Engineering Experiment
Interviewer: Mr. Vice President, as a former running mate of the late former President Corazon Aquino, what was your opinion on the introduction of the 1998 constitution that enshrined the concept of a federalized Philippine state under Tadiar’s dictatorship?
Pimentel Jr.: Well, I was originally a proponent of federalism for the Philippines, until Tadiar’s implementation of it made me a bit confused as to why he would do such a thing. For a dictator, the last thing he should do is to decentralize the country. Yet, Tadiar himself is aware of his political shortcomings but could not keep his dictatorship lasting forever. That is why he was grooming Nicanor Faeldon as his possible successor.
Interviewer: The idea of Tadiar grooming Mr. Faeldon seems a bit confusing, especially when you have the likes of Saulito Aromin and Edgardo Doromal positioning themselves as the possible successors to Tadiar. Moreover, back in 1993, one of the factors that led to US President Jesse Jackson’s refusal to abide by the 1951 US-RP Mutual Defense Treaty was the Philippine government’s reckless behavior towards the Chinese Navy that attempted to steal Scarborough Shoal from the Philippines, and the other was the televised execution of former Reform the Armed Forces leader Gregorio Honasan. Did you think that Tadiar’s dictatorship was going to fall back then?
Pimentel Jr.: I assumed that Tadiar had plans to prolong the dictatorship, and even the UN sanctions as well, because it provided a convenient excuse for the Tadiar regime to do whatever it wanted. Even if it resorted to piracy and terrorism. Starting in late October of 1996, and well into 1997, the Philippine Navy had resorted to capturing Chinese Coast Guard ships for their own use, and they would normally execute the hostages while they are at it. In fact, I was trying to reach our Chinese colleagues through the Chinese consul in Vancouver, to try and stop Tadiar from re-igniting the West Philippine Sea conflict.
Interviewer: What went wrong with your efforts?
Pimentel Jr.: First, Ye Fei, one of the few Chinese officials that we could trust, and his comrade, Wang Dongxing, almost fell from grace when Premier Jiang had received intel that Mr. Wang was creating a separate power base in Fujian, from which he could launch a party leadership challenge against him. That was averted, when the real culprit of the engineered plot, a certain Luo Gan, was exposed as the mastermind. Luo Gan wanted to eliminate his potential rivals, in a bid for the leadership position himself, and was arrested, as a result. Second, Tadiar had signed an open-door agreement with the Japanese government, to allow Japanese medical workers to come to the Philippines, so they can help with the humanitarian effort. That also had a personal side to it as well.
Interviewer: How so?
Pimentel Jr.: One of the Japanese workers who arrived in the Philippines was a young nurse by the name of Yukiko Kurosaki, who became Tadiar’s personal nurse. She became his companion after hearing that during the Chinese bombing, Tadiar’s wife and son were killed in the attack. He fell into depression, which she was able to cure him from it. In addition, she also advised him to adopt a strict Japanese style diet that allowed Tadiar to live longer.
Interviewer: Did Tadiar fell in love with the nurse?
Pimentel Jr.: They had a close friendship, but Nicanor Faeldon also became friends with her as well. In fact, Tadiar was counting on Ms. Kurosaki and Faeldon to begin courting each other. They eventually got married in a Traditionalist Catholic Church in 1998, and one year later, Ms. Kurosaki gave birth to a baby girl, followed by a baby boy two years later.
Interviewer: The personal life of Artemio Tadiar was not well known, even within the inner circle of his dictatorship, as he preferred to keep that private. However, there were more bizarre experiments that he carried out during the middle years of his dictatorship. What were those experiments?
Pimentel Jr.: Well, one of Tadiar’s attempts to reform the Philippines lay with religion. Even though the 1998 Constitution had not declared any official religion, under Article Three, which declared that the Philippines is a secular nation, with multiple recognized faiths. He saw the Aglipayan Church as a perfect tool that could be used to unify the nation, although he only restricted it to the Christian populated areas.
Interviewer: I also heard of Tadiar’s war on the fraternity groups, which was as vicious as the war against the communists and dissident Muslim rebels who did not like Nur Misuari’s collaboration with the Tadiar regime. What was that like?
Pimentel Jr.: Tadiar knew that most of his predecessors had connections to various fraternity groups, including Ferdinand Marcos, and was determined to purge them from society. It was under his regime that the Freemasons of the Philippines suffered from the most vicious form of persecution, as the National Intelligence and Security Authority, which carried out the persecutions. The tortures carried out were just as horrific as the ones carried out against captured left-wing activists, and by the time Loren Legarda took power in 2016, much of the Freemasons within the Philippines were either driven into exile or were killed. The members of the other fraternity groups were sent to Tadiar’s labor camps.
Interviewer: And what of Tadiar’s attempts to control religion?
Pimentel Jr.: Well, do you recall the priest who oversaw the funeral ceremony of the late Arturo Tolentino? (Interviewer nods) Well, Adolfo Rodriguez Vidal, and Juan Ignacio Larrea Holguin were prominent figures in the attempted reformation of the Christian church in the Philippines. It was members of the infamous Opus Dei, a notorious ultraconservative faction of the Catholic Church that initiated a civil war within the Aglipayan Church, as its agents had produced propaganda against its founder, calling Gregorio Aglipay an ‘apostate’ because Aglipay was initiated as a Freemason, like Jose Rizal. In a way, Tadiar is also bringing back the practices not seen since the Spanish colonial period, like the Inquisition, only NISA became the modern-day secularist equivalent of it.
Interviewer: OK. How was it that the Philippines also became a new stronghold of the infamous Society of Saint Pius X?
Pimentel Jr.: That is also easy: Tadiar gained an ally in Salvador Lazo Lazo, who advocated the so-called ‘Counter-Reformation’ of the Catholic religion in the Philippines, re-introducing Tridentine Mass, and forming the Philippine branch of the SSPX. Unfortunately, he died in 2000, and he was replaced by Anton Schneider, an Austrian Traditionalist Priest who was assigned to be the leader of the Philippine branch of the SSPX. However, Father Athanasius resigned when Tadiar also brought in even more radical members into the country.
Interviewer: I can understand why Tadiar had severed ties with the Holy See, and indeed in 2001 Pope John Paul II had issued a warning to the Tadiar regime, to not openly fraternize with fanatics who have tried to bring the Catholic Church back to pre-Vatican II days, but the dictatorship remained aloof. Even so, Tadiar had made sure that the Philippines would remain a strictly secular nation. In addition, the Sociedad Sacredotal Trento, a sedevacantist faction based in Mexico, had been a major backer of General Mario Chaparro’s dictatorship in Mexico from 1997, until his voluntary resignation in 2016, the same year that Tadiar resigned as dictator. Did Chaparro played a role in the expansion of the sedevacantist groups in the Philippines?
Pimentel Jr.: I do not think so, but he and Tadiar had started to formulate the idea of an independent Catholic Church that they alone can control, with Archbishops of those churches essentially as puppets. Father Mark Pivarunas, who inherited the responsibilities of his predecessor, Moises Carmona, was sent to the Philippines, so he could formally build the first Philippine Independent Traditionalist Catholic Church in 2002. There were major issues with its formation, with Pope John Paul II issuing the act of excommunication for those priests who joined what is essentially a neo-reactionary, sedevacantist, anti-modernist church.
Interviewer: That sounded a bit contradictory at first, but eventually the same PITCC would emerge as one of Tadiar’s major critics and soundly backed Loren Legarda’s candidacy in 2015. In addition, the former Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines were subsumed by the Tadiar regime, under the banner of the Ministry for Religious Affairs, which governed the organized religions within the Philippines. At the same time, we have also seen the increased persecution of the Protestant population of the Philippines, and most important of all, the so-called Church of Christ that was founded by Felix Manalo. Why would Tadiar engage in the open persecution of the Protestants?
Pimentel Jr.: Tadiar saw the INC as a voting bloc that could potentially challenge his dictatorship. Keep in mind that after 1996, Tadiar started to purge the Philippines of any American influence, replacing them with either indigenous, or Spanish influences. One of his biggest reforms that became popular with the youth, even after his resignation, was the overhauling of the educational system. Before, the Filipino educational system was based on the American one, with the Thomasites being the primary reformers. Starting in 1997, Tadiar started bringing in unemployed teachers from Latin America, Spain, and Japan, to help reform the educational system there. The teachers from Spain were more popular in Zamboanga, because of the Chavacano speakers there, but teachers from Chile were also highly prized.
Interviewer: Because of their connections to the former Pinochet regime, right?
Pimentel Jr.: Yes, and the teachers from Mexico were also highly prized because they were the ones who helped revise all the history textbooks within the Philippines. You see, Tadiar saw the teachers from Latin America and Spain as useful allies that could help reconnect the Philippines to the wider Hispanic world. It was the teachers from Spain and Mexico that taught the Filipino youths about the Manila-Acapulco galleon trade and debunking the so-called Black Legends that were normally propagated in the old history textbooks. We have criticized the publishing of the history textbooks from the Tadiar era as basically propaganda codified by Spaniards.
Interviewer: As if the Spanish and Latin American teachers were not enough, Tadiar’s employment of Japanese language teachers was even more controversial because of the legacy left over from World War Two. That became one of the biggest complaints that the former government-in-exile had made, and it was also tied to the anti-Tadiar protests. Combined with Tadiar’s retention of Spanish as the official language of the Philippines, you pretty much had a political time bomb in the making. Did President Legarda repeal most of the so-called educational reforms that Tadiar made?
Pimentel Jr.: To my shock, she kept it, along with the numerous Spanish immersion classes that were established in the Philippines in 1999, and Japanese immersion classes that followed two years later. Tadiar looked at Singapore’s example on how to maintain a multi-racial society and decided that Spanish and Japanese would become the unifying language, because he did not want to be favoring either Tagalog, Ilocano, or Cebuano. In his drive for federalization, Tadiar also introduced the ‘Recognized Languages Clause’, promoting all the other languages seen as ‘dialects’ of Tagalog, and even sponsoring their popularity as well. However, he saw Spanish and Japanese as useful for communicating with the outside world.
Interviewer: Literacy rates within Filipino youths had steadily climbed year after year, with the Tadiar regime making formal education compulsory, and he incentivized the parents to send their children to school by abolishing tuition fees, making it free. How was he able to cover the expenses for such a thing?
Pimentel Jr.: Well, do you remember the wealth that he seized from those Filipino Chinese families who were forced into exile? (Interviewer nods) Much of that went into reconstruction, but 45% of the confiscated wealth went to educational reforms. The reforms also included modeling the Filipino schooling system on that of East Asia’s system. That also included introducing lower and upper secondary schools. Before, senior high school students graduated at the age of 16 only, but after the reforms, senior high school students in the Philippines have graduated at the age of 18. In addition to all the subjects, fifth year to sixth year high school students had to take a Military Service Preparation course, which prepares them for compulsory military service. It is essentially an equivalent to the cadet programs you see in the West, but the MSP course is taught jointly with the school and the AFP.
Interviewer: Are you worried that Tadiar is creating a generation of killing machines at this point?
Pimentel Jr.: Yes, and the results of that educational reform was evident when those same Filipino high school graduates were among the soldiers of the AFP that were deployed in Korea during the Second Korean War, who committed the greatest number of atrocities, and all of them were against Chinese volunteers or surrendering North Korean soldiers who did not choose to defect to the Provisional Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea based in Russia. I am surprised that none of the high school graduates who emerged as war criminals were sent to the Hague at all. The most damaging legacy of the Tadiar years was that he managed to turn the flower of the Filipino youth into merciless fanatics willing to fight and die for their country, but at the cost of their moral fiber.
---- * Jocks is TTL's version of the popular TV Series, Glee, minus the singing. There was also a Glee episode portion that I have also written for the failed spinoff, "Ring of Fire: The Asia-Pacific Spinoff of Zhirinovsky's Russian Empire", involving Lea Michele, Charice Pempengco (before her transitioning to male), Evgeny Sangadzhiev, Max Adler, and Artur Smolyaninov, but I still have it.
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Post by kyuzoaoi on Apr 4, 2021 0:25:16 GMT
Holy shit, Tadiar only needs to make a Waffen-SS corps for himself.
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Post by TheRomanSlayer on Apr 4, 2021 0:30:44 GMT
Holy shit, Tadiar only needs to make a Waffen-SS corps for himself. I don’t think he would go that far, although an analogue to CAFGU would arise. |
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Post by kyuzoaoi on Apr 4, 2021 0:48:14 GMT
Tadiar would probably retain the Marines but will probably build a new force from the AFP that is loyal to the President, I think.
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Post by TheRomanSlayer on Apr 4, 2021 1:11:51 GMT
True, and the analogue of the CAFGU would be more like OTL’s National Guard or the former Philippine Constabulary.
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simeon
Petty Officer 1st Class
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Likes: 57
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Post by simeon on Apr 4, 2021 6:43:27 GMT
Pimentel Jr.: To my shock, she kept it, along with the numerous Spanish immersion classes that were established in the Philippines in 1999, and Japanese immersion classes that followed two years later. Tadiar looked at Singapore’s example on how to maintain a multi-racial society and decided that Spanish and Japanese would become the unifying language, because he did not want to be favoring either Tagalog, Ilocano, or Cebuano. In his drive for federalization, Tadiar also introduced the ‘Recognized Languages Clause’, promoting all the other languages seen as ‘dialects’ of Tagalog, and even sponsoring their popularity as well. However, he saw Spanish and Japanese as useful for communicating with the outside world. So based, yet... Pimentel Jr.: Well, do you remember the wealth that he seized from those Filipino Chinese families who were forced into exile? (Interviewer nods) Much of that went into reconstruction, but 45% of the confiscated wealth went to educational reforms. The reforms also included modeling the Filipino schooling system on that of East Asia’s system. That also included introducing lower and upper secondary schools. Before, senior high school students graduated at the age of 16 only, but after the reforms, senior high school students in the Philippines have graduated at the age of 18. In addition to all the subjects, fifth year to sixth year high school students had to take a Military Service Preparation course, which prepares them for compulsory military service. It is essentially an equivalent to the cadet programs you see in the West, but the MSP course is taught jointly with the school and the AFP. Interviewer: Are you worried that Tadiar is creating a generation of killing machines at this point? Pimentel Jr.: Yes, and the results of that educational reform was evident when those same Filipino high school graduates were among the soldiers of the AFP that were deployed in Korea during the Second Korean War, who committed the greatest number of atrocities, and all of them were against Chinese volunteers or surrendering North Korean soldiers who did not choose to defect to the Provisional Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea based in Russia. I am surprised that none of the high school graduates who emerged as war criminals were sent to the Hague at all. The most damaging legacy of the Tadiar years was that he managed to turn the flower of the Filipino youth into merciless fanatics willing to fight and die for their country, but at the cost of their moral fiber. I'd commend you however for making the (definitely anti-)heros here so in-character. The sentiments held by so much in the armed forces, hell even the citizenry then and up until now, and for formulating a logical subversion and deconstruction of those ideals and sensibilities from OTL. Guess I will be sent to die in Korea ITTL, or rather, well, do gaming, if you could pardon the lack of proper euphemism. And I think that masturbation jokes in the Boy Scouts and CAT are bad enough. Sure, Tadiar has been a visionary, huh? Also, considering the high rate of atrocity even in the Air Force, those must have been a common, even customary expectation in the rest of the Philippine society. Pray tell, has Legarda herself, being an air force officer herself, participated in some of those gaming? Anyways though, do you have plans to post this in alternatehistory.com? |
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Post by TheRomanSlayer on Apr 4, 2021 7:00:28 GMT
Pimentel Jr.: To my shock, she kept it, along with the numerous Spanish immersion classes that were established in the Philippines in 1999, and Japanese immersion classes that followed two years later. Tadiar looked at Singapore’s example on how to maintain a multi-racial society and decided that Spanish and Japanese would become the unifying language, because he did not want to be favoring either Tagalog, Ilocano, or Cebuano. In his drive for federalization, Tadiar also introduced the ‘Recognized Languages Clause’, promoting all the other languages seen as ‘dialects’ of Tagalog, and even sponsoring their popularity as well. However, he saw Spanish and Japanese as useful for communicating with the outside world. So based, yet... Pimentel Jr.: Well, do you remember the wealth that he seized from those Filipino Chinese families who were forced into exile? (Interviewer nods) Much of that went into reconstruction, but 45% of the confiscated wealth went to educational reforms. The reforms also included modeling the Filipino schooling system on that of East Asia’s system. That also included introducing lower and upper secondary schools. Before, senior high school students graduated at the age of 16 only, but after the reforms, senior high school students in the Philippines have graduated at the age of 18. In addition to all the subjects, fifth year to sixth year high school students had to take a Military Service Preparation course, which prepares them for compulsory military service. It is essentially an equivalent to the cadet programs you see in the West, but the MSP course is taught jointly with the school and the AFP. Interviewer: Are you worried that Tadiar is creating a generation of killing machines at this point? Pimentel Jr.: Yes, and the results of that educational reform was evident when those same Filipino high school graduates were among the soldiers of the AFP that were deployed in Korea during the Second Korean War, who committed the greatest number of atrocities, and all of them were against Chinese volunteers or surrendering North Korean soldiers who did not choose to defect to the Provisional Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea based in Russia. I am surprised that none of the high school graduates who emerged as war criminals were sent to the Hague at all. The most damaging legacy of the Tadiar years was that he managed to turn the flower of the Filipino youth into merciless fanatics willing to fight and die for their country, but at the cost of their moral fiber. I'd commend you however for making the (definitely anti-)heros here so in-character the sentiments held by so much in the armed forces, hell even the citizenry then and up until now, and for formulating a logical subversion and deconstruction of those ideals and sensibilities from OTL. Guess I will be sent to die in Korea ITTL, or rather, well, do gaming, if you could pardon the lack of proper euphemism. And I think that masturbation jokes in the Boy Scouts and CAT are bad enough. Sure, Tadiar has been a visionary, huh? Also, considering the high rate of atrocity even in the Air Force, those must have been a common, even customary expectation in the rest of the Philippine society. Pray tell, has Legarda herself, being an air force officer herself, participated in some of those gaming? Anyways though, do you have plans to post this in alternatehistory.com? 1) Given the OTL cringeworthy behavior of Filipino politicians (such as Nancy Binay being elected despite a lack of political experience for the purpose of...on the job training...I am not joking, this actually happened a while ago), a good deconstruction of this would have been necessary. Hell, most of the Philippines-centric TLs do not even cover the effects of a single Point of Divergence, which is definitely huge for TL. 2) I would have thought that Tadiar, despite his awful reputation ITTL, might have contributed to something a little bit more beneficial in the long run, even if the Philippines literally paid an arm and a leg for it. Cha-cha ITTL might have already been achieved, though it was nothing short of a disaster this time around. 3) Loren Legarda would not participate in the Second Korean War, mainly because she would be posted elsewhere. I will also cover the repercussions of a more open Filipino-Japanese diplomatic relationship that also extends into a potential military partnership, or Legarda would be posted as a military attache elsewhere, though it would start in 2007, as the travel bans and economic sanctions would be over by then. 4) I cannot post this on alternatehistory.com, as I am banned from there for reasons that I could not disclose. PM me if you need to find out. 5) As mentioned in the beginning, this TL is actually inspired by alternatehistory.com's most well known timeline, "Zhirinovsky's Russian Empire", in terms of dystopic creativity (I also contributed a little bit to that TL, although I still have the chapter from the spinoff where that TL's version of Glee not only has the untransitioned Charice appear in that show, but two actors from Russia also appear). |
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simeon
Petty Officer 1st Class
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Post by simeon on Apr 4, 2021 9:17:40 GMT
Anyways though, with Legarda having enough support from the populace and supposedly enough political capital to be president (thanks to her being an Air Force officer), will she finally proscribe the atrocious gaming practices of the military? You know, the coolness of the Scout Rangers would be for naught if they are killing babies in the process (or worse, turning them as a goon for Faeldon's youth group). More importantly, does the military (and perhaps, the society itself if the cadet program got that far and effective) see her favourably, let alone consider her as "one of them"?
Before that though, would those cadet programs be more suppored ITTL, let alone be much more effective in teaching its lessons? How insidious would its culture also be? Its instructors must have been so storied with the atrocities that they participated in.
Is there also anything left of the Philippine Left, has the general society turned full-on "fascists of the rally-to-the-state hurr durr, kind" against who they want to think as their enemies?
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stevep
Fleet admiral
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Post by stevep on Apr 4, 2021 15:36:22 GMT
Well finally a footie success.  No dramatic victories like OTL like over the Netherlands but a steady performance including that extreme rarity of a penalty shoot-out win by England!  Although that's how we defeated Spain in the quarter finals OTL. Good touch having Southgate scoring the winning goal compared to his OTL penalty miss in the semis. The dramatic thing was the Germans failing to get to the knock out stage. Good performance by Wales as well.
In the Philippines the Taidar regime seems to be doing lasting damage to its society. Its going to take an age to overcome the deeply repressive and militaristic tendencies he's embedding in the country.
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Although that's how we defeated Spain in the quarter finals OTL. Good touch having Southgate scoring the winning goal compared to his OTL penalty miss in the semis. The dramatic thing was the Germans failing to get to the knock out stage. Good performance by Wales as well.